Health workers fumigated parts of Lima, Peru, which became the 23rd country to report a case of the virus (Picture: REUTERS)

Daniel R. Lucey and Lawrence O. Gostin, writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association last week, said the WHO’s failure to act quickly during the Ebola crisis probably cost thousands of lives, and urged the body to convene an emergency committee of disease experts so the same apparent mistake is not repeated.

The pair said the virus had ‘explosive pandemic potential’.

Athletes and tourists planning to travel to the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro this summer were warned to think twice before going. The Australian, Russian, American and British teams among others have all said they are monitoring the situation carefully.